British influence in Iran is non-existent but a nuclear deal could be a fresh
start if the Foreign Office moves quickly to seize opportunities

European majors such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and ENI were all involved in Iran before tighter sanctions targeting oil production were introduced a few years ago, and all are thought to be monitoring the situation closely

Britain must establish a diplomatic presence in Iran to capitalise on a potential deal on the the country’s nuclear programme or lose out on global race to trade with Tehran, an influential Commons committee has said.

In a wide-ranging report on British policy towards the oil rich state, MPs said the Foreign Office must trust that President Hassan Rouhani, who took office last year, is a genuine reformist determined to transform the country’s relationship with the West.

Policymakers must now anticipate that a deal to remove sanctions on Iran would be based on a compromise that allowed limited enrichment of uranium despite UN resolutions that banned Iran’s nuclear programme.

Britain closed its mission in Tehran in 2011 after mobs overran the compound. A deal signed earlier this year provided for the restoration of diplomatic ties but the Foreign Office said it will not send an ambassador for the time being.

In a scathing section that examined the history of London’s ties with Tehran the House of Commons committee said it could find “no evidence” that any British individuals could exercise personal influence in Iran.

The MPs warned that Britain was in danger of being left behind in efforts to rebuild the trade relationship as businessmen from other nations rushed to Tehran

“The Foreign Secretary’s recent decision to re-open our Embassy in Tehran was the right one. Events in November 2011 forced its closure; but that meant yet another interruption to our ability to understand the Iranian outlook at first hand, and we have become less visible in the country,” said Sir Richard Ottoway, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “ If the UK is going to have influence or profile in Iran, we need those diplomatic links to be restored.”

The cross-party committee found that Iran is currently “just weeks” from the breakout position where it could race to make a nuclear weapon. However it added that the country’s nuclear programme not a goal in itself but a product of its ambitions to increase its influence in the Middle East.

As negotiations in Vienna between Iran and world powers seek to break the deadlock before the six month standstill in Iran’s enrichment of uranium expires on July 20, the committee said there was a good chance of a painful compromise. It said diplomats should accept a pact to allow “mutually defined enrichment of uranium if the breakout period for a bomb is pushed to six months or more.

The MPs said a range of options should be set out for Britain to win friends and allies in Tehran. It said the Foreign Office must be ready to acknowledge the role played by the predecessors in deposing the elected Iranian prime minister in 1953.

Britain is widely known as the “old fox” by those in Iran who believe London manipulated Tehran’s politics for its own ends from the mid-19th century. Its role in the 1953 coup that overthrew Mohammad Mossadeq, acknowledged in the release of government documents last year, remains a running sore.

Officials should also seek an early deal to re-establish the British Council in Iran and ease much resented hurdles to visa applications from the Islamic republic.

However the committee said that officials had no room to backpedal on matters of Iran’s appalling human rights record and must raise objections to abuse at every opportunity.